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April 25, 2024

Oddities, antiques and Flavors on the Avenue: Your weekend guide to things to do

Fox Chase Farm also opens its gates to the public for a sheep shearing day.

Weekend Things To Do
Weekend guide food fest Provided image/Eastern Passyunk Avenue Business Improvement District

Food and craft vendors will line East Passyunk for the business corridor's annual Flavors on the Avenue festival this weekend.

Tuckered out from badgering Alexa for "Tortured Poets Department" Easter eggs? Touch grass this weekend at one of several Philly festivals in the fresh air — including one on an actual working farm.

Fox Chase Farm is inviting families out to its Northeast Philly property to watch sheep shearing, wool spinning and other agricultural demos on Saturday, in one of its few annual public events. Another sprawling space, the Woodlands in University City, will also host visitors that day for a craft market with a side of circus arts. Antique lovers can browse the Philadelphia Show art and design fair on the art museum's East Terrace any day of the weekend, or even Thursday night if they pony up for the preview party. And foodies can try over a dozen East Passyunk Avenue restaurants in one go at the corridor's returning springtime festival.

Inside events are also on the table, including the Reclectic clothing customization workshop at Philadelphia Mills and the World Oddities Expo at the convention center. Check out the all details below:

Watch shaggy sheep get a makeover

Fox Chase Farm will welcome visitors this weekend for an afternoon of hayrides, blacksmith demos and other barnyard fun. The educational and working farm is normally closed to the public but is making an exception Saturday from noon-4 p.m. While the event includes live music and candle dipping, the main attraction is sheep shearing, which promises to be anything but a baaaah-d time (sorry).

Bring home a curio from the World Oddities Expo

Got space on your bookshelf that's crying out for a clown mask? You'll find that and other bizarre conversation pieces at the World Oddities Expo on Saturday. The "peculiar paradise" will take over the Pennsylvania Convention Center from noon-8 p.m. Expect vendors selling macabre art, tattoo artists offering ink on-site and performers demonstrating everything from butoh (a Japanese dance) to "gothic soul" cabaret.

Get crafty in the Woodlands

The West Craft Fest is inviting folks to get lost in the woods, and come out with a few handmade treasures. The biannual craft market returns to the Woodlands, the 54-acre green space in University City, on Saturday afternoon. Acrobatic artists and a drumline will greet visitors during the event, but one thing that's not welcome? Cars. The West Craft Fest is a pedestrian-only event, so plan to take the trolley or bike over.

Customize your closet

Reclectic will make its customers fashion designers for a day at a customization workshop inside the Philadelphia Mills outlet. The URBN secondhand shop is partnering with FabScrap, the Philly textile recycler, on an Earth Month event this Saturday starting at noon. Visitors can select up to five items from the store and then accessorize them with fabric patches to create one-of-a-kind pieces. Workshop attendees will shop the racks an hour before Reclectic opens to the masses, but they do need to purchase a $50 ticket in advance.

Browse antiques at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The paintings and sculptures inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art are not for sale, but the items on its East Terrace will be this weekend. The Philadelphia Show returns Thursday through Sunday for another art and design expo featuring over 40 exhibitors from around the United States. There will also be guided tours and a panel discussion led by "Antiques Roadshow" senior producer Sam Farrell.

Taste the flavors of East Passyunk

Cruise East Passyunk Avenue with a cheesesteak bao in one hand and a slushie in the other during Sunday's returning Flavors on the Avenue food fest. Local restaurants will take their business to the street, setting up stalls from Broad to Dickinson streets between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Visitors can also shop a massive curated craft market in between bites, or check out one-day-only specials at shops along the avenue.


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